Montreal, July 25, 2011 – Montreal Alouettes President and CEO Ray Lalonde handed out $32,250 in bursaries to 27 Quebec student athletes in football during the seventh edition of the Montreal Alouettes Bursary Program within the Quebec Foundation for Athletic Excellence.
Last year, the Alouettes announced an investment of $115,000 towards the Foundation’s bursary program, renewing the organization’s commitment to amateur football through 2013. This year, during a ceremony at McGill’s Douglas Hall prior to the team’s July 24 home game at Percival Molson Stadium, Mr. Lalonde presented his first bursaries as the team’s new President and Chief Executive Officer.
Proud to be involved with the Quebec Foundation for Athletic Excellence, Lalonde believes the program is consistent with the Alouettes’ philosophy of developing minor football and hopes it will help entice Quebec’s best young athletes to stay in the province, be it to study or to pursue a career in sports.
“Football continues to grow in the Province of Quebec, both among fans and among players. High School, CEGEP and University teams province-wide are all having increasing amounts of success on the national scene. This bursary program touches on two aspects that are very important to the Alouettes, as it supports not only good football players, but also good students,” declared the team’s president.
The Alouettes first announced a three-year $75,000 investment in 2004, effectively getting the program on its feet. Through the plan, the team hands out bursaries annually to student athletes who excel in a recognized secondary, collegiate or university-level football program. Several types of bursaries are distributed to highlight excellence in both sports and academics, for perseverance in education, and for leadership and participation in the community. In 2007, the Alouettes announced the renewal of their partnership with the Foundation by investing $90,000 through 2010.
Co-directed by the Quebec Foundation for Athletic Excellence and Football Quebec in partnership with the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec, the Foundation’s President Claude Chagnon, Football Quebec’s President Pierre Robinette and the Executive Director of the RSEQ, Alain Roy, are all happy to have the Alouettes on board. Through the support of the province’s sole professional team, today’s young athletes can see just how far they can go when football is paired with a solid education. The Alouettes’ involvement within the program will allow today’s stars to become role models for youth currently practicing football in the province, creating a link to the solid future of the sport in Quebec.
The bursary ceremony was presented by RDS, which was represented by Public Relations Coordinator Ms. Julie Gosselin. RDS also featured interviews with a few of the student athletes honored during its July 24th game broadcast.
For more information about the Quebec Foundation for Athletic Excellence: www.faeq.com
For more information about Football Quebec: www.footballquebec.com
For more information about the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec: www.sportetudiant.com
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